I Will Always Remember

Becky has left a lasting impression on me and I will always remember her.

I am 33 years old and and live in San Francisco. I have worked in Information Security for the last decade or so. I met Becky when I was just getting started through the Executive Women’s Forum. I was very junior at the time and Becky was so kind to me. I remember meeting her for lunch at a Thai restaurant in San Jose, CA and thinking, Becky is such a badass. Why is she even giving me the time of day?

I remember her warm and friendly demeanor, her charming voice, how I had a little bit of trouble hearing everything she had to say when we were in a busy conference environment and would need to lean in to catch all of her words.

I can’t stop thinking about a meeting I had with her in New York last year. A couple of years ago, my daughter was born and my father passed away a week later. It was an incredibly transformative time for me, and Becky listened and gave me beautiful space to share my story, my joy, and my grief. That’s when I learned about the various medical issues that she had been battling over the past few years. She also shared with me the story of her son’s life and his death. I was so struck by Becky’s most recent success against cancer. I told her that for all she had been through, it was clear that she still had work left to do on this earth.

The last time I saw Becky was at the RSA conference, for lunch on Valentine’s Day. I was the event organizer and Becky was one of my favorites, so I arranged for her to sit next to me. There were about 30 women in attendance and many that I had not seen in over a year, so I did not make a special effort to spend time with Becky 1:1. I wish that I had.

Becky told me that she loved seeing pictures of my daughter, Sue, on Facebook. Now whenever I post photos it makes me sad that she will not see them. However, it brings me joy to know that she is with her little boy.